While the bulk of medical and scientific research during the Covid-19 pandemic has understandably been on understanding the virus, what medications might treat it effectively and how to devise a vaccine, attention may shift somewhat to dealing with some of the more long-term effects of the disease.
For all that vaccines and Dexamethasone might save lives, for many who have had the virus the initial illness was just the start of their woes. The phenomenon of ‘long Covid’ started to appear in the public consciousness last spring, with reported symptoms including severe fatigue, breathlessness, heart palpitations and other persistent symptoms.
How bad the problem is, how it manifests and what may be done to treat it is a question to which the University of Glasgow has turned its attention.
It has sent invites to all those who have undertaken NHS Scotland tests for Covid – including those who tested negative to help with sampling – in order to establish how many of those who have had the disease have failed to make a full recovery.
While life science recruiters may in due course be seeking researchers who can help find effective treatments, knowing the extent of the issue may help provide important clues into likely targets for any new medications that could be developed.
Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow and prospective study lead Professor Jill Pell said: “Most people recover quickly and completely after infection with Covid-19, but some people have reported a wide variety of long-term problems.”
She added: “It is crucial that we find out how many people have long-term problems, and what those problems are, so that we can set up systems to spot problems early.”
Among the features of the study will be questionnaires to establish what the state of people’s health was before they caught Covid, so any patterns for long Covid sufferers can be identified.
Consultant Scientist at Public Health Scotland Dr Andrew McCauley said: “This study is unique in that it will look at all COVID-19 positive cases irrespective of their initial symptoms, or whether they required any medical care during their illness. “
This wider scope may reflect the reality that the virus has an exceptionally wide range of consequences, ranging from no symptoms to a fatal respiratory disease. In addition, some people who suffer long Covid do so after being asymptomatic during the initial stage. The study may shed some light on why this is and aid the search for treatments.
There has been both anecdotal and no study evidence to suggest that vaccination can help prevent instances of long Covid among those who are infected. The latest data on this has been published by the Office for National Statistics, concerning the beneficial effects of a first dose, although at this stage it does not extend to establishing if this last to the second dose or indeed is enhanced by it.
That may go to show that there is still a lot of work to be done on long Covid in order to understand the condition and devise ways of treating it effectively.